The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has completed the upgrade of the Mackay radar in Queensland.
The Mackay weather radar has been offline for six months while a new dual-polarised Doppler radar was installed. The new technology is to provide better image resolution, better visibility of weather systems and less image interference.
Specifically, it is expected to improve the image resolution between rain and hail, and it will show higher quality images during intense rain and storms. This update is expected to provide the local community with more reliable and up-to-date weather information. Radar images are now live on the Bureau of Meteorology’s website and the BOM Weather app.
This upgrade is part of the Bureau of Meteorology’s Queensland radar infrastructure upgrades which have been carried out this year. Work to reinstate Mackay radar was fast-tracked due to category 1 storm Tropical Cyclone Jasper, which is moving across the region. The Mackay radar is still undergoing standard testing and data quality assessment. During this time, the radar may be subject to intermittent outages or image quality issues.
Mackay radar data feeds into the Bureau’s models and forecasts which enable: communities and industry to make decisions when preparing for severe weather; farming businesses to make timely decisions, such as movement of stock, chemical and fertiliser application, sowing and harvesting; and increased forecast accuracy every year.
Read more of the latest radar updates from the meteorological technology industry, here.